There is No Wizard in Oz
by EmeraldChick
Summary: Dorothy was able to leave Oz, and when she grew up, she had two daughters. Each of her daughters had one of her magical red shoes. One daughter never used it, but grew up and had a child. But the other daughter used the shoe to become the Witch of the West! Dorothy is dead, but can her granddaughter confront her aunt and save Oz!
1. Chapter 1

But There is no Wizard in Oz

Chapter 1

One day, you are at home just watching MTV like every other high school door in America. Then the doorbell rings. You go to get it, and there is Rachel your best friend since forever ago. Before you can say anything, Rachel says, "Dorothy, I need your help. Your family's life depends on it." She takes you by the hand and goes straight up into the attic your parents tell you to never go into.

"Rach-" you start to protest, but then you are hushed by the meanest scowl ever. Rachel opens what looks to be a wall in the attic. She steps in and begs you to follow her, and without hesitating you do.

You enter into a wonderful forest. The bark of a tree is of a dear brown and red hue. Sun light is streaming in through the pale yellow leaves. One flutters in the wind until it is snapped of the branch. It floats through the air, like a dancer twisting and turning with grace. Then it flutters down to the ground, the dance finished. A boot slams on top of it.

"Focus!" your friend yells at you and she yanks your chin up. "Hey! Yeah, it is so much better in Detroit, I agree. But your parents are going to die if we don't do this!"

"Do what?!" You yell at her. You are officially 100% freaked. "Rachel, where are my parents?!"

Rachel takes a deep breath and says "What you need to do is listen to me without freaking out, and then do exactly as I tell you to."

You take a big breath and nod, and Rachel continues. "Your dad is a cop, but you mom is a witch. Not a bad witch, like Glenda the good witch, you know from that movie Wizard of Oz?"

You nod, you have watched that movie a thousand times. "Okay so what are her powers?"

Rachel rolls her eyes. "The same as in the movie. And your aunt is a bad witch, again Wizard of OZ."

"What?!" you exclaim. "My aunt wound never want to hurt a dog in her life!"

"DORI! How many times have you watched that movie?! The witch does not want the dog. She wants the farm! The dog was the excuse to get the farm. Your aunt does not want just to hurt one person. Your aunt wants the kingdom! All of OZ!"

"WHAT!" you cry, finally gasping the situation. "How do we stop her?" Now, you are determined. Your aunt is not going to get your kingdom!

"Well," Rachel says sheepishly. "We already messed up. I did not transport us to Munchkinland, but we are in the forest in lions and tiger and bears."

"So we find the cowardly lion?!" you say excitedly. Somewhere deep in the dark forest you hear a roar.

"Yeah. Um. They messed his character up. Really bad!" Nervously you shuffle towards her, and then she continues. "Actually, first we need the munchkins, and instructions from Glenda!" She drags you close to a pond and stares at the waters. "Think in your mind how munchkinville looks in the movie….You got it? Jump!"

You both go in to the water and the world goes black.

The second teleportation did not work as well. You are transported onto a street of gold, falling out of the sky and slamming into yellow bricks. You grunt sitting up, and see that Rachel did not fare much better. In fact, when she sat up there was a little trickle of blood running down her head.

"Oh my god!" You scream and start running over to her. "Rachel, are you okay?" you ask when you sit down with her. She kind of looks a little disoriented, her eyes are unfocused. Worried you get closer to her. "Hello, Rachel?" She is still not responsive so you shake her shoulder, "Hey, are you okay?"

Your best friend looks up at you and blinks, then asks, "Um, who are you?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Your breathing starts hitching. She- She brought you- She brought you here. And- And she- And she cannot remember you. Your-Your- family is somewhere here. And you have no idea what to do. Without holding back, you just start crying, sobbing as if no one was there.

Then all of a sudden a big puff of green smoke appears just a few feet from you and you hear a crazy cackling, that you somehow remember from. You look up to see Aunt Gulthieve's eyes. She is the aunt who is a mayor in some small town in Kansas that has only seen you at Christmases and birthday parties. She had the same black eyes that were always a little creepy, but the rest of her looks different. She was this beautiful aunt, but she is not pretty in OZ. Now you see her green skin and a wart on her nose. Her teeth are rotten, and her black hair is all straw-like and messy. She is clad in a black cloak that goes all the way to the forest floor. Your aunt is the Wicked Witch of the West! And she's got you defenseless!

"Hello my-"

"Don't you dare!" you scream, load enough to startle hear. You can't see her because hot tears are still stinging your eyes. "What- what have you- d-d- done to her?" you eventually chocked out.

You expect the crackling voice of an old witch to answer you, but your aunt's voice was still as sweet as always, "Oh Dori dear, don't cry. I am helping you. Everyone know that the first friend you need is a brainless scarecrow. Oh wait. She ain't scared yet."

All of a sudden a hot ball of fire appears in her hand. Your eyes dart from place to place and you see a spring of water, so you scoop up some and throw it on her. She is stunned and stares at you for a moment. Then to you horror, she starts cackling.

"Did you really think that would work?" she sneered in an irksome witch voice, you got her angry now. "I watched that movie with you, remember. I would never show you my true weakness!"

Just as all hope was lost, a voice of bells rings out, "But I know your weakness!" You both turn to see the most beautiful women you have ever seen, stepping out of the woods. She has hiking boots on, her hair twisted up into a bun, and has what looks to be a sword at her side. You cannot tell who that is back home, but you are still thankful to see her.

"Glenda!" shrieked your aunt. "There is no way you know!"

This time the good witch laughs. She shakes her head, "Oh sister, I know. Now be gone," and with that she flicks her wrist and the witch, your aunt, vanishes.

You turn to Glenda and say, "Thank you! I was so frightened. Please tell me what her weakness is?"

Then Glenda is sad, "I cannot say. That is your task. If I were to help you defeat the witch then the Great Oz might become angry, and he is more powerful my sister and I combined."

"What! You are afraid of the Wizard?" you said. "But in the movie, he turns out to be a fraud!"

"He is the all-powerful Wizard of Oz. He has the control over the all four of the witches. If I am a witch then I must yield to him, and he declares that the witches cannot kill each other. Besides how can I tell you how to kill somebody, especially your aunt? No! You must kill her." she nobly decreed.

"How in… Oz… will I do that?" It is a strange saying but it seemed appropriate considering the circumstances.

"Dori," Can Glenda get frustrated? "How did the witch get defeated in the movie?"

"Um… Water?"

"No, by a group effort. Now we have established that you are Dorothy and you have your brainless friend already, which is good. Find your man without heart, and a beast without courage and then go to the witch's castle in the east."

"Can you tell me where any of them are?"

"No."

"Can you tell me who you are?"

"Glenda!"

"No! I mean at home?"

"No"

"Can you tell me where the castle is?

"Dori, did you just ask where the Witch of the West lives?"

You suddenly realize that you did. You look at the ground and kick a rock into the stream. "No," you mutter.

Glenda laughs. "It is all right child. You have a guide."

"I do?"

"Yes!" cried the voice behind you. Scarlet got up and dusted off her pants. "Yes I can guide you to the Wicked Witch of the West! I do not remember who you are or how I know you, or why I am here…" she stopped for a second and both you and Glenda stare at her. "Oh! But I do know Oz and I can get you to the west!" she crowed.

"Really, can you tell me how to defeat her?"

Your friend looks sad, "No. I don't know that."

"It is alright," you say hugging her, "I am just glad that you are okay."

"Scarecrow," Glenda says. Your friend looks up "Will you take Dori to the witch's castle for me?"

"Oh. Of course, Glenda. Who is Dori?" Scarecrow, you old best friend who has no idea who you are.

You roll your eyes. "ME!" you yell. Dori looks at you then back at Glenda and nods viscously.

"Good! Then, I will be off," and with that she vanishes, just vanishes. No pink ball, no munchkins, just poof. You scratch your head and try to figure out who Glenda is."

"Okay," Scarlet-No Scarecrow you think to yourself- says smiling at you. "We are off to the witch's castle!" She says that to you like "we are off to the mall." All you can do is take her arm and think "Nope, you can't put that in a catchy tune."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Instead of singing to the tune that you are trying to make up in your head, you feel like crying as Scarecrow leads you through a dark forest. There are growls all throughout the forest, and they all sound hungry. You tried to tell her that it is too dangerous and you both need to go around. But she insisted telling you that it would take days if you went around, and so here you are clinging to a person who barely knows you scared you are going to get eaten.

"We need to find a man," you whisper to Scarecrow.

"I think we can manage," she says back to you.

You sigh. Scarlet had watched the Wizard of Oz with you, but Scarecrow hadn't. How are you going to explain to her you need to meet a man made out of tin when she had never seen tin before?

"Scarecrow," you say trying to sound reasonable, "We are going to kill a witch, but we cannot do that by ourselves. You can get me there, but I cannot kill her. I tried with water and it did not work."

"Why did you try to kill a person with water?" The tone in her voice made it sound like she thought that was the most ridiculous thing in the world, which to be fair it was.

"Not my point!" you defended. "We need a guy who can wield an ax. Okay?"

"Got it!"

You see something flying out of the woods. Suddenly, you are on your back. Before you can react a man, all shiny with like he is made of aluminum is standing over you, ax ready to strike.

"Found him!" yelled Scarecrow from behind the tin man.

You rolled your eyes. That was such a Scarlet thing. Then your eyes focus on an ax coming down on you. You roll out of the way barely avoiding it. Your first prayer in Oz is, "God, please make it rain." The ax comes at you again, and then you summon up the courage to say, "Hey, I am defenseless! Why hurt me? What did I do to you?"

The tin man stopped and looked at you for a minute. He blinked a few times. Then he says something that freezes your blood, "Nothing, but I don't have a heart." With that the ax, comes down again.

Scarecrow pushed you out of the way. "Hey, don't hurt her. Come at me."

Tinman fell for it, and turned to go after Scarecrow. Grateful for the distraction, you look around and try to figure out how to beat a heartless tin giant. In the middle of the woods, there is really nothing for you to use. You try to think about how they stopped him in the book. Water made him rust up, and the oil can made him move. **Wait** , you think, **he needs the oil can!** You start searching for that and something shiny catches your eye, the oil can. Your hands grab it, and you turn around to see Scarecrow dodging yet another ax swipe.

"Hey!" you scream, but the ax man does not turn around. "You heartless hunk of tin, look what I got."

Tinman turned around to see you start to pour the oil out. "Wait!" he said screaming. "I will do whatever you want. Please! Please don't pour that out!"

"Drop the ax!" you demand. He complies, much to Scarecrows relief.

"I want you to be our guard as we travel to the witch's castle," You demand. A squeaky head nod is what you get as an answer. "Good. But first we need to find the King of the Forest, the lion. Do you know who that is?" Another squeaky sound. "If I give you this, ill take us to find him?"

"Of course!" bellowed Tinman. "Now give me my oil can!"

You hand the can over, and the freak begins oils himself right in front of you. He actually oils himself everywhere, his neck, his jaw, his shoulders, and his elbows. You realize he is staling so you say, "Okay we held up our end, so it's your turn."

Tinman gives a smile, not a nice smile, but the smile of someone who just got caught trying to hurt you. "Yes your right it is time to go. Now follow me." And with that, he starts heading off in the direction of West again. You eye him as the Scarecrow walks up to you.

"Do you trust him?" she whispers in your ear.

"No," you whisper back. keeping an eye on the strange man the whole time.

"Good I thought it was just me," and with that she trots off after him.


	4. Chapter 4

The reason for not trusting Tinman became very clear once you entered the forest. It was dark and spooky. The witch might very well be here, lurking behind the trees ready to jump out and attack. You grab Scarecrows hand, and to your surprise she grabs it back.

"So," you yell at Tinman, "This is the fastest way to the Witch's Castle?"

"Oh no!" he called back toward you. "The fastest way is to go through the open fields down the yellow brick road to the Wizard, then fork left to the Witch's Castle."

 **What!** You mean all this time you could have followed the yellow brick road, like in the movie, and no one not Glenda, Scarecrow, or Tinman decided to tell you this until you got to the creepy forest! You feel the scream rise through your throat, "Then why are we not doing that?!"

Scarecrow beside you flinches, and Tinman spins around swinging his ax right above your head. You duck to keep your head from being cut off.

"Because," the harshness of the tone makes you flinch again. "The yellow brick road is not safe. Her monkeys are flying around all of Oz looking for a little girl in jeans who sticks out like a sore thumb. This is the fastest way to get to the witches castle and not be dead when you get there."

You nod, less because you follow the logic, and more because the ax is still right above your head. Satisfied, Tinman turns around and keeps walking. You begrudgingly stumble along behind him with Scarecrow at your side. She slips her hand into yours and gives it a squeeze, silently asking is you are okay. You nod your head answering yes, but you are really mad that your aunt is trying to kill you and your parents. You are also really mad that you still have no idea what the heck is going on, and Scarlet cannot tell you because she does not even realize that you knew before you fell through the portal. Now you realize you are Dorothy, "I want to go home," you think to yourself. To make matters worse the way home is not down a gold road to a magical city, but one of the creepiest roads you have ever been on to the women who is trying to kill you, but has spent a lifetime telling you that she loves you.

"Dori," Scarecrow said "What is wrong?"

"I just want to go home," you choke out.

That is when Tinman sarcastic tone rang in your ears. "Well, crying like a baby won't help you."

"Maybe I should take that ax of yours and stab you in the heart! OH WAIT! You don't HAVE ONE!" you scream at the top of your lungs.

You were ready for the ax this time, and you pulled Scarecrow down with you. Tinman sweeps the blade across where your necks were supposed to be, but you and Scarecrow are clear, barely. You can feel the wind whoosh over your necks.

"I d- do-nt ha- have a h- heart b- b- because it was st-st-stolen." Tinman pitifully sobbed.

The words you were going to reply die on your tongue, when you see the anguish in his eyes. You were going to ask how but then it dawned on you. The witch. That witch stole his heart. How can someone be that evil?

You hear a loud crunch behind you. You heart thuds loudly in your chest. The lion has found you guys! You are going to die! "The lion!" you think. The Lion needed courage from the Wizard, maybe he too scared to try to kill us!

You turn around and see nothing. You know that you heard a crunch, so you look down and see a little lion cub. "Oh No!" you think to yourself, "how in the world are we going to kill my aunt with Simba?!"

The cub looks at you with gleaming eyes. You wave him away and he crouches down like he is ready to attack you. "Go home!" you say to him. "Go home little boy!"

The lion cub starts to circle you and your friends. Scarecrow runs and hugs you, "D-D-Dori, wh-wh-what's that?"

"A lion cub, Scarecrow. It's okay, it won't hurt us," you say to her soothingly. Scarecrow nods, but then you feel the cold tin push your body forward.

A cold hand pushes you towards the cub. "Here you go little lion," Tinman taunts. You push back towards the hand, and the tin cuts into your flesh, drawing blood. "Here are some yummy flesh, little lion. You can't eat tin, tin can hurt you."

"Really!" You way looking back at him. "It's a little cub. What's it going to do?" You move to pet it. Suddenly, the lion cub starts making this weird sound out of its mouth, it's like it started as a cry then turned into a scream. He screamed like this for a good five minutes, then he got an answer. A big, loud answer that sounded angry and close.

Scarecrow answered your question. "C-C-Call his dad! Wh-Wh-What do we do?"

"RUN!" You all turned around from the little prince of the forest and started running the other way.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

For a hollow man made of tin, Tinman runs really fast. He runs on ahead of you and Scarecrow, moving as fast as his metal joints would allow him. Scarecrow runs a little slower than Tinman, but she is still faster than you. Which means that you were about to be eaten by a mean, daddy lion!

"Wait! No I am not." You think to yourself. "I am about to be eaten by a **cowardly** lion. Let me think, what did Dorothy do in the movie?"

With that in mind you gather your courage and turn around. Now the lion is coming toward you, roaring and teeth barred. But, you call his bluff. You stand up straight and say, "Shame on you! We did nothing to you or your cub. Leave us alone!"

Everyone stops when you say that, and all four of you stand still. For a full minute, no one breathed. Scarecrow walks up to you with a questioning look, but after one reassuring nod from you, she plants her feet and stares down at the lion. You look to see if Tinman will join you, but he hides himself by a tree, close enough to watch and far away enough to get away. You scowl at the heartless man, but he does not move an inch.

"Why should I leave you alone?" growled the lion in a low voice.

"Because," you say in a semi-diplomatic voice, "We did **nothing** to your cub."

"Yes. That is true!" He hesitates, and for a second you thing that you might have won the argument, then an evil sneer spread across his face. "But you are still trespassing in my woods, and that means that I have the right to kill you!"

Scarecrow shakes beside you, and you reach for her hand. Out of the corner of your eye, Tinman turns ready to go on the run again. You turn your eyes back to Lion.

"We apologize for trespassing on your land, but **we** are going on a noble quest." You crow casting a side glance at Tinman. Guiltily, he stops in his steps. "We are confronting the Wicked Witch at her castle. You see, she has stolen the scarecrow's memory, and the tinman's heart. I am sure she has done something to you, and if she has not she will if she goes unchecked. Will you join us?"

"What has the witch taken from you?" Lion asked in a low voice.

You stopped puzzled. "I was transported here by mistake. If I defeat the witch, I will gain the power to go home?"

"Did the witch transport you here?" asked Lion.

"No," you gestured towards Scarecrow. "She did, but during the teleportation she lost her memories. She is my good friend from back home."

Scarecrow looked at you trying to remember your old life back home, but after a few seconds, she realized that she could not and gave up. Meanwhile Lion was pacing back and forth, debating of if he would join your quest.

"Years ago," he started. "My father was the king of the forest. He was helped found his courage from a young girl with a black dog named Dorothy Gale. He told me that the young girl wanted to go home to Kansas with her dog. She, my father, a scarecrow, and an ax man journeyed to Oz to get the girl home."

"Yes!" you screamed. "Dorothy Gale was my grandmother."

"However, Dorothy was able to leave Oz by clicking her heels together and saying that there is no place like home. When she grew up, she had two daughters. She gave each of her daughters a magic red shoe, a source of great power. One daughter never used it, but lived in her own world, got married, and had a child. I assume that child was you."

You nod, following his logic. That is why mom always told you that movie was based on reality.

"But the other daughter used the shoe as a source to study magic, and she got consumed by greed. She transported over here and learned about her predecessor, the Wicked Witch of the West. She found a broom in the Great hall of Oz became more powerful than the original witch. And that is the witch you are trying to defeat."

"Yes!" you cry. That must have been what Rachel was trying to tell you, before she lost her memory. "Will you help us?"

"Yes. I will help, because you are in over your head. This witch is worse than the first!"


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you to everyone who has viewed this page. I am really appreciated to SailorSedna052 who is a follower of this story. I hope I can keep you entertained. If you comment, I can make sure it stay something your like. Also, I realize that there was some inconsistencies in the first few chapters, I think that I fixed them. Here is the next instalment.

Chapter 6

"So… what is the plan?" Scarecrow asks. All three of them look at you.

 **What! Why am I the leader? I am a kid!** "Lion is the one who said that we are all 'in over our heads'." You make your sassy air quotes. "Make him tell you what the plan is!" you add darkly.

A growl escaped from Lion. "Do not think that you can blame your lack of foresight on me, little girl. I am the **king** of the forest. I know my powers, and the powers of the witch. You have yet to know what your abilities are."

His mocking voice has really got you aggravated. He was right, though. You had no idea why you were special or what you inherited from Dorothy that makes you able to defeat the witch. This should all be a dream. All you can think is, **I want to go home. I hate this place, it is so dark and scary.** But you can't say that to these people, you have to be the leader. "Hey!" you fire back. "Scarecrow and I have lived here lest than a day, why can't the ax man or you get us into the castle? Unless you are too scared."

That did it. Lion let out a growl that startled you so bad you though that he was going to attack, but then a blood curdling scream hit your ears, and you turn to see Tinman running towards you, ax ready to strike. You block it with your sword, and step out away from him. Scarecrow, ever faithful, comes to you aid wielding her sword that she had on when she showed up this morning. With a yell, she stepped in front of you, and blocked the ax that was about to come down on your face. It had the word "Tracker" on the blade, you read it as it stops the Tinman from hacking your face. You land on the forest floor and then you see the light shine off the hilt, "Watchman".

You step far away from the fight, and watch your friend defend you because you are a coward. You sit down and puts your head in your hands, Lion walks toward you and sits down next to you. "Did you see something Dori?" with a tone that makes you think that he already knows the answer.

"Yes. The sword and the ax, they- they both had names."

When hearing what happened both Scarecrow and Tinman stopped fighting. They looked puzzled and looked down at their weapons.

"Oh, yes," said Lion. "Weapons in Oz have always had names. It is the challenge to the wielder. They must live up to that name in order for the use it, because the person who lives up to that the weapon is very powerful. Scarlet, or Scarecrow, was to track a member of Dorothy Gale's family down, and Tinman was to watch for your return."

"If he was supposed to watch for us, why did he try to kill us?!"

Lion made a noise that was a mix between a growl and a chuckle. "Well, it took you like 70 years to come, who wants to be a lookout for 70 years."

You take in a deep breath, "You have been waiting for 70 years to see me? But, Why?"

"That is when your grandmother left in her balloon. A year later, Glenda told us that a witch would come who was like the first, but much more powerful. Everyone was frightened, but then she added that a member of Dorothy Gale's family would come back to fight for Oz. The witch had been here for a few years, she came during transition of finding new people to help govern Oz. We sent Scarlet here and her parents, all Ozions, when Scarlet was a child, so that you would have a guide to help you when you were ready."

"WHAT!" This had been a plan all along that Scarlet knew about and no one told her. "Scarlet was my best friend just so that she can come and get me to save Oz?!"

The Lion shook his head. "Scarlet was sent to you, so that when the time came you could have a friend to rely on. She saw to be someone you were familiar with who could help you with the unfamiliar. Glenda had said it was best that way."

"GLENDA?" You are so going to kill that "good" witch. "This whole thing was Glenda's idea. Who is she? Do I know Glenda? I mean, is she someone from Detroit?"

"I do not know if she is someone that you knew growing up, but she must have knowledge of you. Since kept tabs on your grandmother when she went back home to Kansas and when your mother chose not to have anything to do with Oz because of the witches, Glenda made sure we would know where to find you. We had to keep tabs on you in case something happened. When you came, she thought it would be easier to let you have adventures, and learn to lead."

"Adventures?" You were crying now. "What adventures am I having by my aunt wanting to kill me? Tinman wanting to kill me? My best friend not knowing who I am? And now, you with you sudden well of knowledge?"

"If it was easy, or had a clear answer, then it would not be an adventure would it? Don't be discouraged. You have a lot more than your grandmother. She had a dog and a drive to go home. You have a sword, and three friends at your side. The witch is afraid of you!"

You draw the sword that you used against the witch, where she laughed in your face and told you that you did not know her weakness. Instead of bearing a type of name, it was blank, and it had your reflection. It needed to say something, it needed to say your purpose.

"I am the leader of the quest," you beamed proudly, but the sword did nothing. Tinman laughed and you scowled in his direction. "I **am** your leader, Tinman!" His smirk faded, and you turned your attention back to your blade. "I am the granddaughter of Dorothy!" but again the blade did nothing. You groaned. "I want to go home!" you shrieked at the inanimate object, but there was no response.

Devastated, tired and discouraged, you threw the sword down and stormed off. Scarecrow started to follow you, but Lion growled to make her stop. As the three stayed where they were, you walked down and sat on a small boulder. You put your hand in your face and just started crying. After a while, you heard big paws crush the ground, and looked up to see Lion standing there.

"Your right." You admitted through your sobs. "We are in over our heads. My best friend does not know who I am, Tinman wants to kill everyone, and you are right. The witch is way more powerful then all of us combined, she is going to win."

"Child, I never said that the witch is more powerful than us. I said we are in over our heads."

"WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?" You not so calmly yelled at him.

He paused, again. You really got nervous. "No matter how tame I act, Dori, I am a wild animal. Do not yell at me." His calm tone scared you, and you mumbled an apology. After the minute, the beast continued, "We are in over our heads because none of us get along. If we did, then we could best the witch."

"In the movie," you start, because there had to be some reason why you were showed that all your life. "The witch starts trying to attack Scarecrow, and Dorothy puts the water on her to save him."

Lion thought carefully. "The details are wrong. The witch was trying to kill Scarecrow, yes. And your grandmother did stopped her, but not by the water."

"How?" you asked.

"She threw the water to save Scarecrow, not kill anyone. The water did not till the witch, the complete act of saving a friend killed her."

"Why?"

"To her core the witch was completely evil, well wicked, but same thing. And Dorothy saving her friend was completely good, innocent, and with the only intention of saving a life."

"I have to do something, for one of you guys, with the only intention to save your life, and I will get the power to kill the witch?"

"Yes," the Lion beamed.

Suddenly there was a large noise behind you two. Scarecrow was yelling at Tinman to stop. But as all of you watched, Tinman's swung his ax into the tree, and it got stuck. The tree smacked Tinman in retaliation. That started the dumbest fight ever, man of tin versus live tree. You and Lion both get up to go break up the fight, and you think to yourself, **I am never getting home.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Tinman and the tree are getting into it by the time you and Lion get there.

"Enough!" Lion commanded. The tree stops, and Tinman starts pulling on the ax to try and get it out. "Tinman. I said enough!" Lion starts making a noise like a grunt, and then there is a big loud roar that could burst everybody's eardrums.

"I know what you said Simba, but that does means I have to—"

With a roar, Lion sprang onto Tinman. Scarecrow screamed and came running over to you. Lion claws dug into the shiny tin. Lion got right up to Tinman, and his breath was steaming onto Tinman's face.

"Don't you **ever** call me that!" Lion threatened. "I will kill you. Without hesitation."

Tinman nodded, his head moved up and down so fast it squeaked. Satisfied Lion stepped off and Tinman got up, not too gracefully.

"Hey guys, I know how I have to kill the Witch. What I have to do is an unselfish act in attempt of purely trying to save one of your lives. That should kill her."

Scarecrow nodded, "Okay, but how are you going to do that?"

You shrug, "I have no idea. All I know is that it will kill her, Lion just told me."

"Ha-ha!" said a voice from behind you. You turn around and see the tree shaking. You step back worried that it is going to attack you, and then you realize that it is laughing.

"What is so funny?" You ask it.

At first he does not answer you because he cannot catch his breath, but then he stops and composes himself. "You- You think th-th-that you can ki-kill the Witch with kind-kindness?"

"I am Dorothy Gale's granddaughter," you say proudly.

The laughing gets louder. "That does not mean anything. She is the Wicked Witch of the West, and you want to kill her with kindness!" Other trees join in laughing at what the stupid little girl was going to do.

"Well-" you start. But then you hear rusted joints creaking, and you turn to see that Tinman has joined in. That makes your blood begin to boil. "SHUT UP! Just Shut up. I am not defending my plan to save Oz to any of you. Especially to stupid trees!"

The laughing stops, and no one says a word. Literally, you can hear crickets in the background.

"I am not a stupid tree." The tree took a deep breath, and then proclaimed nobly, "I am a great apple tree. I have stood tall for many generations. You will respect us!" All of the surrounding apple trees start pelting you with apples, really hard. You scream, ducking for cover, and then Scarecrow comes and grabs your hand to pull you away. All four of you take off running down through the forest.

You all come to a stop when you reached a clearing. Thankfully, there are no trees in sight. Gasping for air, you put your hands on your knees and then the air starts coming more easily.

"Nice going Dori," snarled Tinman. You growled and drew your sword, and pointed it at his face.

"Oh. I did not see you trying to help. In fact, you ran away the quickest you heartless tin can!"

Tinman rushed at you with the ax again. You think this will be easy, just like the last fight you have had. But this time he came at you full force, and you are not ready for it. You skirt away, running up the hill, gaining the high ground. Your arm moved without you telling it to, parrying his blind hacks. You kick him with your foot and he falls down backwards. As he tries to sit up you bring the sword to his face.

"Try that again, and it will be the last thing you do." The words came calmly out of your mouth. Tinman looked up at you with terror in his eyes, and a smirk falls over your countenance.

A roar fills the dead forest. "Dori!" Lion reprimanded. "Do you think that is what your grandmother would do? Threaten anyone who tried to defy her? You are acting more like your aunt. The witch."

You are shaking when you realize that he is right. The sword drops from your hands. You are acting like the witch, your aunt who you have started to hate.

"Why?" you wail. "Why am I doing this? This is not me! Is it Scarecrow?"

Scarecrow backed away from you with a weird look in her eye. She did not know you, she just met you this morning in her mind.

"Lion! This is not me, I swear it!"

Lion slowly walked towards you, until you are both looking eye to eye. "Whatever this is typical behavior or not child, this is your behavior now. I do not think leading this quest is good for you. Relinquish authority to me until you can control your emotions."

Sighing heavy, you nod. Lion was raised here after all, and he has heard of the witch his whole life. Maybe the fact that he should lead is for the best. Lion turns and chuffs, which sounds a whole lot like clearing his throat.

"Now, the Witch."


End file.
